Back From The Eastern Mediterranean----We Should Be Hearing A Clarion Clear Message

I was out of the country between October 29th and November 18. The bulk of the time was spent in the Middle East. I had the opportunity to see some of the education gains and weaknesses in countries as diverse as Egypt and Israel, Gaza and Greece, Italy and Turkey. That section of the trip was magnificent and will be remembered fondly in my future writings and in my thoughts. What was supposed to be a rather sedate, educational trip, came, however, at a politically significant time. I left the United States as the nation was finishing our contentious, hostile election program and returned to a nation that had moved demonstratively to the left, with the re-election of President Obama, Vice-President Biden, the Democrats picking up seats in the Senate {when they should have lost control of that body}, and the closing of the gap in the House, with decidedly liberal representatives replacing decided conservative ones.

What had appeared to be a gracious concession speech by Mitt Romney, deconstructed over the past few days into a continued tirade against the president and the people who voted for him. Republicans were going back to the house and the senate, still blustering about how the president doesn't understand how narrow his mandate is and that he will have to come to them {that is a truly perplexing position} to discuss budget and tax issues. Today is Tuesday, On Sunday evening, when I returned, my first reaction was that the people spoke, loudly and clearly, and gave President Obama and the democrats a mandate to move forward with their political agenda. The message also appeared to be a mandate for republicans to work with the president on his agenda and to become the "loyal opposition" rather than the blood letters on the other side. But, It was going to be business as usual.

I must share with the reader the fact that the rest of the world views us as insane. The part of the world that I was visiting has a reputation for civil disorder, hostility, riots, and both internal and external strife. It is a reputation that is well deserved. Governments are detested, not trusted, accused of being corrupt, and of not understanding how to govern. When you walk the streets in any of these nations or nation states, everyone hates one another. What is interesting, however, is that hatred is focused at the government, not the people. Israel and Gaza are mortal enemies but in speaking to people in both countries, it is evident that for the vast number of Gazans and Israelis, there is no hatred or even dislike of the man in the street on the other side. The rage is focused at the governments. What people would prefer are governments, on both sides, which are less ideological and more pragmatic. It was interesting that I was in Ashkelon when the rockets began to roll in over the hills that separate Ashkelon from the Gaza strip. We headed to the shelter and we waited. There was no talk about the average Palestinian. The discussion was about the Hamas terrorists and the horrible position that they are placing all of the the Gazan people into. They knew that it wasn't the majority of Gazans who were lobbing rockets, but a small group of terrorist/criminals who have taken over the country.

I heard much the same description of the Israeli government when I was in Egypt, Turkey, and Gaza. Netanyahu's Likud is universally hated by the people, but they do not seem to hold any animosity toward the Israeli people. In fact, at the end of my trip, I heard more complaints in Egypt about the behavior of Hamas than the reaction of Israel. People understood that rocket attacks had to lead to massive retaliation. They feared for the lives of their Palestinian brethren. They wanted a cease fire.

The point of this article is that we are dealing with governments here, not necessarily the people being "served" by those governments. There is a distaste for war in the Middle East, within the scope of what I've personally observed and heard. These people want peace but need governments that are willing to broker that peace. This is where we, as Americans, come into play. Our election is over. It is time to leave our foreign policy at the water's edge. The discussion now has to become how we can be honest brokers in a region of the world that has allowed their governments to act like a collective group of 5 year olds. Our president and the American people have to be the grown-ups in the region. The wars must end. The finances of the Mediterranean must be stabilized. This is the powderkeg of world, and we have to be the adult in the room.